At the first Cornell International Hospitality Summit (CIHS), industry leaders and academics will examine the future of the hospitality industry in India. The summit, which will be held Tuesday, January 17, 2012, in Mumbai, India will be co-presented by the school’s Center for Hospitality Research (CHR). Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces is title sponsor of the summit, and all summit sessions will be held at the Taj Mahal Palace.

"We are excited to host the first Cornell International Hospitality Summit in India, one of the foremost emerging markets in the hospitality industry in the world, and we are honored to partner with Taj," said Michael D. Johnson, dean and E. M. Statler Professor at SHA.

The CIHS will feature the ninth edition of the Dean’s Leadership Series, a CEO Panel of four of the top hospitality executives in India. Jon Denison, associate dean for external affairs at SHA, will moderate the panel, which will feature Raymond Bickson, managing director and CEO of Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces; P.R.S. Oberoi, chairman and CEO of EIH–Oberoi Hotels & Resorts; Vivek Nair, vice chairman and managing director of Hotel LeelaVenture Limited; and Raul Pandit, president and COO of Lemon Tree Hotels.

Other sessions held during the summit will be “Achieving Excellence Via Operational and Human Capital Innovations,” moderated by Rohit Verma, professor of services operations management and CHR executive director, and “Revenue and Performance Enhancement in Emerging Hospitality Markets,” moderated by Chris Chan, professor of accounting and dean of the Cornell-Nanyang Institute for Hospitality Management.

Other key sponsors of the summit include the following companies: France 24, Hospitality Architecture + Design, Hospitality Design, Hotel Business, Hotel Management, Hsyndicate, InterContinental Hotels Group, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, Peppermint Hotels, PhoCusWright, Questex Hospitality Group, and TTG India.

For a full schedule of events and more information about the CIHS, visit . For corporate sponsor opportunities, please contact Kathleen Bolton, corporate and foundation affairs associate, at 607.255.1204 or [email protected].